Letter to the Editor - Oct. 24, 2008

Dear Friends,

I am writing to ask for your help. During my time in the State Senate, Massachusetts has made great strides towards recognizing the importance of the MetroWest—now the fastest growing area of the state—and providing it with the resources that it needs and the fairness it deserves. We’ve also made great strides as a Commonwealth in the areas of health care, green energy, transportation and education funding reform.

But there is still more work to be done. These are challenging times which may become even more challenging as we face budget cuts and a national economic downturn. It is going to take a strong, forward-thinking legislative team to represent our interests and continue to fight for our communities.

That is why I ask you to support Carolyn Dykema for State Representative in the 8^th Middlesex district. Carolyn will work full time with me on the issues that matter to us, including education, the economy, transportation and infrastructure, and the environment. She is a collaborator who helps bring people together to tackle complex challenges and get things done. She has demonstrated experience working at both the state and local levels of government, and has proven her commitment to our towns with years of community service.

Carolyn Dykema is committed to the issue that I care about deeply: helping the MetroWest to grow smart and grow strong. Together, Carolyn Dykema and I will work hard to advocate for our towns and our residents. Please send Carolyn Dykema to Beacon Hill with me so that we can work for you!

Senator Karen Spilka

2^nd Middlesex and Norfolk District

November 22, 2008 at 8 p.m  Westborough

Author Events at Tatnuck Bookseller
Tatnuck Bookseller, 18 Lyman St., Westborough, will host author Erica Ferencik from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. as she discusses and signs “Cracks in the Foundation.” From 1-3 p.m., author Jeffrey Thomas will discuss and sign his books “Doomsdays” and Health Agent.” Visit www.tatnuck.com or call (508) 366-4959 for info.

Stephanie Peters
Tatnuck Booksellers, 18 Lyman St., Westborough, will host Stephanie Peters, author of “A Princess Primer,” from 2-4 p.m. Peters will discuss and sign copies of “A Mermaid’s Treasure,” the companion volume to “A Princess Primer.” For info, call (508) 366-4959 or visit www.tatnuck.com

Tomie dePaolo
Tatnuck Booksellers, 18 Lyman St., Westborough, is proud to host beloved children’s book artist and author Tomie dePaolo Nov. 7, from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. as he presents his new book, “Brava, Strega Nona!” For info, call (508) 366-4959 or visit www.tatnuck.com

9 CORDAVILLE RD. (NEXT TO THE CEMETERY)
Employees of the Town of Southborough and Southborough School Employees are encouraged to attend the November 6th clinic from 2:30to 4:00 PM, but are welcomed at the second clinic.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
11:00AM TO 3:00 PM the clinic will be for:
ALL SOUTHBOROUGH RESIDENTS 19 YRS &OLDER at the WOODWARD SCHOOL CAFETERIA

Letter to the Editor - Oct 23, 2008

After a 22-year career in Republican politics, this year I will cast my vote for Carolyn Dykema, the Democratic candidate for State Representative for Holliston, Hopkinton, and parts of Medway, Southborough, and Westborough. This marks the first time I have publicly endorsed a Democrat in a partisan election.

1. The job requires collaboration and communication. The issues are complex; they deserve thought and discussion; they demand collaboration. It’s easy to say “no” and “cut” but answering “how and where” is hard. Carolyn Dykema has already demonstrated her ability to do this on some tough issues in her 10-year service to Holliston town government. Her opponent is offering trite rhetoric and no solutions.

2. Carolyn will be a full time state representative. This year, legislators met in formal session just 34 days and crammed 364 votes into those days. This arrangement makes it possible for someone to have a perfect attendance record and still work a job elsewhere. But the salary for a State Rep. is $58,000 (plus) which is equivalent to, or greater than, what a whole lot of hardworking people earn. So in my view, the complexity of the issues demands full time service; the salary justifies it.

3. We have enough lawyers on Beacon Hill. Carolyn Dykema has a degree in marketing and works in business. I think that’s refreshing!

Check out her website http://www.dykemaforrep.com/

October 23, 2008

An Open Letter from Dan Haley to the Voters of the 8th Middlesex District

Dear Voters,

Recently my opponent and her supporters have begun to mischaracterize my position on Question One, in these pages and elsewhere. This is an important issue, and it is my intention here to explain my position, as I have in each of our last two debates. Video of those debates, complete and un-cut, may be viewed at my website (www.danhaley2008.com), and I urge you as engaged voters to watch and evaluate our positions for yourselves.

Question One has not been an issue that I have emphasized. I am running to deal with the state’s dire economic situation as it is. We have very real, very serious fiscal problems. I do not think this campaign should be about the hypothetical consequences of a measure that may or may not pass, and that in my view has little to no prospect of being implemented even if it should pass. More on the latter in a moment.

I am glad that my opponent has chosen to make taxes and spending a central issue in this late stage of our campaign. We have very significant differences on taxes, aside from Question One. As our families struggle to make ends meet, she supports expanding Pike tolls and is open to a gas tax hike. She frequently references a need for “new revenues,” well-known Beacon Hill code for “new taxes.” I will continue to insist that the legislature get its spending house in order, and I will stand up against any legislative attempts to again come for our wallets.

Of course I do not support de-funding local services, including public education. I am a product of the Holliston Public Schools myself, and my infant daughter will follow me through that system. From the beginning of this campaign, funding for public education has been a central issue for me. I am appalled that following a year when our legislature took in a spent a billion dollar surplus, our towns find themselves having to pit neighbor against neighbor in 2-1/2 override votes to fund basic services like school buses. That represents a fundamental failure by our legislature to set and fund true priorities. It is also part of the state of affairs that has significant numbers of voters fed up and looking to send a strong message to our legislature.

A couple of weeks ago I was asked the direct question: “Will you, as a voter, vote for Question One?” I answered that direct question honestly and forthrightly, as I answer every question. I do intend to vote for Question One. I have not campaigned on the issue, and I have not encouraged others to vote for or against the measure, but I intend to vote for it myself.

Given that response, it is fair for my opponent to claim that I “support” Question One, even if perhaps she and her supporters are guilty of exaggerating the degree of that support for their own purposes. That is politics, and about that I have no complaint. Let us be clear, however, both about the nature of my support and the context in which this ballot measure arose.

Much of the recent coverage of Question One has focused exclusively on the potential consequences of the measure, should it pass and be allowed to go into effect. Very little attention has been paid to the events that gave birth to the initiative, or to the reasons behind the fact that in recent polls fully fifty percent or more of the voters support the measure. Question One did not arise in a vacuum.

In the year 2000 the people put a related measure on the ballot, to take the much less radical step of reducing the income tax rate from 5.75% to 5.0%. That measure passed with a significant margin – and by a large majority in our district. In response, our legislature thumbed its nose at the voters, immediately passing a new law to trump the law enacted by the people. Eight years later the will of the voters has still not been implemented; our income tax rate has not been reduced to 5.0%. The legislature does not have (or is not supposed to have) a role in the ballot initiative process – they do not have a veto. Our legislature, however, in 2000 saw fit to inject itself into the constitutional process in a very extra-constitutional way, with the result being that the voice of the people was stifled.

Fast forward to today, and here we are with a billion-plus dollar deficit just ten months after a year when the Commonwealth collected more tax revenue than in any prior year in our history. Last year our state government took in a billion dollars more than they expected. Given the opportunity to vote on a bill that would have sent those surplus dollars back to our local communities – a measure that would have resulted in approximately a million dollars in additional local aid to each of the towns in our district – our legislature voted overwhelmingly, along party lines, to keep the surplus on Beacon Hill. They spent that billion dollar surplus. Then they spent another billion dollars. Nobody should be surprised that we now find ourselves in a billion dollar fiscal hole. Our legislature dug this hole for us.

The people are fed up with how our government handles our money, and they have a right to be. Many taxpayers look at Beacon Hill and see a supermajority that has absolute control and no sense of accountability. Their actions in 2000 and the squandering of last year’s surplus are only the most egregious evidence in support of that conclusion. I share that frustration, and will not be heard to tell those voters that their frustration is wrong, unjustified or irresponsible.

The legislature’s actions in 2000 provide important context for Question One in another respect. In her release, my opponent says that passage of Question One will result “inevitably” in a whole series of adverse impacts on our cities and towns, including increased property taxes, decreased education funding, and so forth. Is that really so? Hardly – no more than the ballot measure passed in 2000 resulted “inevitably” in the similar parade of horribles trotted out in opposition to that initiative. Put simply: there is no reason to believe that having learned in 2000 that they can thumb their noses at the voters without electoral consequence, our legislature, now more thoroughly dominated by one party than it was in 2000, will choose this time to implement the will of the voters. On the other hand there are several reasons to believe they will do exactly the same thing they did eight years ago. In some contexts, my opponent’s rhetoric might be deemed “the politics of fear.” I’ll just call it political expediency. Either way, her rhetoric is overblown and her conclusions exaggerated.

I have significant experience on Beacon Hill. Having seen and fought through extraordinary legislative efforts to kill Melanie’s Bill in 2005, I know first-hand how the supermajority deals with issues they do not like. My opponent suggests that it is the height of irresponsibility to view Question One as a vehicle to send a message to our legislature. But several months ago no less an authority on matters legislative than House Speaker Sal DiMasi characterized it as exactly that – a message vote. Further, the Speaker – who controls the legislative agenda on Beacon Hill with an iron fist – said of Question One: “I'm against doing it and I find myself hard-pressed to say that I would try to completely implement an elimination of the income tax…I can't see myself doing that in the future.” [Video of the Speaker’s comments can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzKcL6decG4] Just yesterday, WBZ-TV reported that legislative sources are telling their reporter that “if voters elect to abolish the state income tax, lawmakers on Beacon Hill will either vote to over-ride it or they will vote to delay it.” [http://wbztv.com/politics/state.income.tax.2.845987.html]

This is an unfortunate state of affairs for reasons utterly unrelated to Question One; but it is our current political reality in this state. Our legislature does not feel responsible or accountable to the voters. Question one is a message vote. The message being sent is a necessary one, an overdue one, and one that will embarrass our legislative leadership and – hopefully – spur them to some degree of fiscal responsibility; but local services will not be eviscerated. The parade of horribles will not come marching down main street.

I urge you, as voters, to make up your own minds on Question One. Even as a message vote, this is an important item on the ballot and ought to be considered carefully. I have shared my thinking and my conclusions, based both on our recent history and my experience on Beacon Hill, but I understand that opinions vary on this issue, as on many issues. Our legislature could use some of the healthy debate that is taking place in the public this election cycle.

I look forward to the day when we have some balance in our legislature, and a return of open debate on Beacon Hill so that voters will not have to resort to radical measures like Question One to make their voices heard. Electing me to replace my friend Paul Loscocco, who has represented our district with integrity and independence, will represent a step towards that day, and I ask for your vote.

Sincerely,

Dan Haley      (a larger font edition of this letter to the editor can be found here)

 Vigeant receives Endorsement from former State Senator and Secretary of Environmental Affairs.

October 22, 2008 -Arthur Vigeant, Candidate for State Representative 4^th Middlesex District, is delighted to receive the endorsement of former Democratic Senator Bob Durand. Senator Durand also served as the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Environmental Affairs. Offering his endorsement today, Senator Durand stated, “During these difficult economic times, it is important we have people in the State House that have a background in municipal finance and have balanced budgets to ensure financial accountability for the taxpayers of Massachusetts.” In response, Arthur Vigeant, a Certified Public Accountant, pledged to continue to ask the tough questions and be accountable to the taxpayers. After all, Vigeant said, “it’s not my money, it’s your money” and the representatives in the State House need to remember that with every decision they make.

Pictured: Arthur Vigeant, Marlborough City Council President – Candidate for State Representative 4^th Middlesex District and Bob Durand, former State Senator and Secretary of Environmental Affairs.

This was the sixth Walk Against Breast Cancer held in Holliston. The walk has raised over $200,000 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Information: (978)-562-9838 or www.avmsingers.org

Dykema went on to say that she understands that taxpayers are stretched thin and want to see the state better control spending, but that approval of Question 1 is not the answer. “I believe that taxpayers don’t want to be ‘penny wise and pound foolish.’ They want representatives who are accountable, and who budget and spend responsibly. I have worked hard locally to earn voters trust in this respect, and I want the chance to do the same at the State House.”

“I will continue to speak up for fair and sensible tolling for our MetroWest commuters. I look forward to the possibility working with the Governor on this issue and getting needed relief for our towns.”

     This election season, the political talk is all about “change.” We certainly need it on Beacon Hill. But real and meaningful change in this Commonwealth’s government will never happen under one party rule. Otherwise, we just get more of the same. And what is more of the same in this state? The last Speaker of the House of Representatives resigned after being indicted. The current Speaker stands accused of doing political favors for his cronies. This past year a state representative somehow managed to casthis vote in the State House from the Caribbean. The Democrats who run the Registry of Probate offices in Cambridge and Boston are both under criminal investigation for stealing public funds. And owing to excessive generosity to political favorites, the state pension system is a time-bomb waiting to explode.

     In fact, public distrust of our state government runs so high in Massachusetts that its citizens estimate 41 cents of every dollar they pay in state taxes is wasted. Is it any wonder that there is a referendum on this year’s ballot that would completely do away with the state income tax? But there is also another option: vote Republican.

     The critical need to curb one party rule is especially pressing here in Metro-West. Last fiscal year, the taxpayers in the fourteen cities and towns that are included in the Middlesex- Worcester Senate District got back in state funding a mere fraction of every dollar they sent east to Beacon Hill. The remainder was gobbled up by the wards and precincts which are the loci of political power in this state. The Democratic Party leadership on Beacon Hill spends our taxes on venality, waste, and whatever other government inefficiencies are demanded by the political interests which keep them in power. And the state legislators who are supposed to represent us in this region too often turn a blind eye to this wretched mess in exchange for a few crumbs of aid and the passage of extravagant liberal social programs.

     In the tough economic times to come, this cannot continue. We will need to radically scale back government spending, and that means ending the waste and corruption in our state government’s operations. But we will not get anywhere so long as the entrenched political interests that control the State legislature block any efforts at meaningful reform. We must elect legislators who have the best interests of the state at heart, not that of their party’s leadership. We voters always complain that our politicians keep betraying the public trust. But then we keep re-electing them over and over again. This year you don’t have to accept more of the same. Vote Republican for a change.

Brian P. Burke, Esq.

Middlesex-Worcester State Committeeman

125 Birch Hill Rd.

Stow, MA 01775

For more information visit www.southborobelties.org or email

Joyceg1@yahoo.com or lpbourdon@aol.com